REVIEWS OF MOVIES AND TV SERIES CURRENTLY (OR SOON TO BE) RELEASED ON DVD.

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Taxi (Season 3) DVD

With its biting humor and eccentric characters, Taxi is widely lauded as one of the top sitcoms in television history. The brainchild of James L. Brooks, whose golden touch played a role in such hits as The Andy Griffith Show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and The Simpsons, Taxi continues to entertain and gather generations of new fans through syndicated reruns. With a superb cast and great writers, the show introduced the world to the comedic talents of Hollywood mainstays like Danny DeVito, Tony Danza, Marilu Henner, Christopher Lloyd, and Andy Kaufman.

Taxi follows the daily operations of the Sunshine Cab Company, a New York City taxi service run by tyrannical dispatcher Louie De Palma (Danny DeVito). De Palma’s self-centered sarcastic remarks are often dispensed from the safety of his pathetically small office in the corner of the body shop, while various employees like Alex Reiger (Judd Hirsch), Tony Banta (Danza), and Elaine Nardo (Henner) socialize and plot against their common enemy. Add foreign mechanic Latka Gravas (Kaufman) to the mix and all the ingredients are in place for hours of endless laughter. As the characters deal with problems of varying degree in their personal lives, the audience is treated to some of the best comedy ever produced for the small screen.

The Taxi (Season 3) DVD features a number of hilarious episodes including the season premiere “Louie’s Rival” in which Louie’s girlfriend Zena dumps him for a bartender at Mario’s. Danny DeVito provides another hilarious performance as the heartless Louie… Other notable episodes include “The Costume Party” in which the gang crashes a luxury yacht party in the hopes of meeting some famous people, and “Bobby and the Critic” in which Bobby happens upon one of the theater critics who recently bashed his performance.